The breakout of Winston Santos is underway: A 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who has performed exceptionally well in the minor leagues this season is poised to challenge the Rangers’ longstanding pitching development woes.
Winston Santos, a Dominican Republic native signed for $10,000 in 2019, has captured attention with his impressive performance in his initial three starts of the season for High-A Hickory.
In his season opener against the Rome Emperors on April 5, Santos pitched five innings, conceding just one run. He followed this with a standout performance against the New Jersey Blue Claws on April 12, where he generated 16 swings-and-misses over a season-high 5 2/3 innings pitched. During this game, he struck out 7 batters, allowed only 3 hits, and issued no walks.
In his latest performance, Winston Santos delivered a stellar encore by pitching five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Friday. Santos achieved a season-best 12 strikeouts, with six batters struck out looking and six swinging, resulting in a total of 14 whiffs. His pitch-to-strike ratio stood at an impressive 89-59. According to Baseball America’s Josh Norris, Santos consistently hit speeds of 95-96 mph, reaching a high of 97 mph. Notably, he managed to strike out MLB Pipeline’s No. 40 prospect, Termarr Johnson, with just three pitches in the top of the first inning. For his outstanding performance, Santos was honored as the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week.
Currently, Santos boasts an impressive 0.57 ERA and has accumulated 24 strikeouts, ranking third among qualified pitchers in the South Atlantic League. The only pitchers ahead of him in ERA are Rodney Theophile of the Washington Nationals (a 24-year-old) and Jean Cabrera of the Philadelphia Phillies (also 22 years old). Additionally, only Owen Murphy of the Atlanta Braves (a first-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft) and Trevor Martin of the Tampa Bay Rays (a 23-year-old who pitched at Oklahoma State) have recorded more strikeouts.
Santos, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on April 15, did not secure a spot in MLB Pipeline’s or Baseball America’s top 30 list of Rangers’ prospects. However, he was ranked as No. 29 in The News’ preseason assessment. The headline of the March 2 article read: “Potential breakout starter RHP Winston Santos.” His improved strikeout percentage (40%) and a career-high 6.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio indicate that his breakthrough has commenced.
In The News’ rankings, Santos was positioned as the organization’s 14th-best pitching prospect. MLB Pipeline listed 14 pitchers ahead of him in their comprehensive evaluation of the system. Similarly, Baseball America’s top 30 featured 15 pitchers other than Santos. It is anticipated that there will be some alterations in these rankings when they are updated in the future.
Acker, a previous fourth-round draft selection from Oklahoma, was acquired by the Rangers from the Oakland Athletics in the Jonah Heim trade. Despite being hampered by injuries, he has maintained a commendable career ERA of 3.20 across 112 2/3 minor league innings. With his current effectiveness, there’s a possibility that he could garner consideration for a major league role if he maintains his strong performance.